22/01/2025
On January 1st, my colleague called to warmly wish me a Happy New Year and also reminded me to bring her the delicious New Year fried rice I had prepared. She knew I always made Fried Rice on special occasions.
Before we went on holiday, she had come to my office, saying emphatically,
“I heard you are a fantastic cook! So I want fried rice and chicken when you’re back from the holidays. Bring it for me, and don’t forget!” she stressed.
“Don’t worry, I will,” I replied, trying to pacify her.
Honestly, I had kept a plate for her in the freezer, but my brother came around and took matters into his own hands.
“Sister, I ate it, oh!” he answered when I noticed the plate of rice was missing from the freezer.
New Year’s Day was on Wednesday, and I had to resume work on Thursday. I decided to go to the nearby market on New Year’s Day to buy the fresh ingredients needed to prepare the fried rice and chicken. I wanted it to be perfect. I knew that if it didn’t turn out well, my colleague would jokingly announce it to everyone.
Once I arrived at the market that Wednesday, I spoke with the butcher selling meat, informing him that I would pay with my card since I didn’t have my phone to do a transfer. He agreed and said I could use his POS to make the payment.
However, shortly after he cut the meat into pieces, he began acting strangely. He insisted he wouldn’t accept card payments and demanded cash, claiming he hadn’t received alerts for payments from customers who had transferred earlier. I reminded him of our earlier agreement, and that was when he became aggressive.
“Don’t worry about the meat anymore; just sell it to someone else,” I suggested, noticing two people waiting to be attended to.
“Never! You are going to buy this meat whether you like it or not,” he shouted in Hausa.
I found his behavior very odd, so I firmly refuted his claim and turned to leave. He struck my shoulder three times. Fear gripped me as I saw his eyes blaze with anger. Two bystanders tried to intervene and calm him down, but he wouldn’t relent, continuing to threaten me.
“Try and leave; let me see!” he yelled heedlessly.
The two people who had been with me abandoned me to my fate. In fact, one of them remarked as he walked away,
“Comot her cloth now. Someone is trying to explain something to you, and you’re just acting up!”
I kept muttering to God for help when suddenly an idea struck me.
I had five hundred naira that I intended to use for transport back home.
“Give me five hundred naira worth,” I said to his assistant.
Once he packed it up and I handed over the money, the Holy Spirit nudged me to tell him to keep it, and then I walked away.
His assistant kept calling after me, but I didn’t respond.
The next day, my colleague approached my desk, eagerly asking for her fried rice and chicken. I smiled, apologized, and told her I would bring it within the week.
That evening, after work, I managed to get the necessary ingredients for the fried rice from a nearby store.
The following day, while packing hers and mine for work, I felt a deep unease in my spirit. Unsure of what I was feeling, I muttered an unusual prayer.
“Lord, let your will be done. If it is your will for Tade to have this food, let me bring it safely to the office and let her enjoy it.”
The prayer didn’t make much sense to me, but I prayed it anyway.
Once I arrived at the office, my colleague,Tade, texted me, saying she had an emergency and wouldn’t be able to come in. I felt pretty worried, so I replied to her text, encouraging her that everything would be alright. I also told her that I had brought her much-anticipated fried rice to work.
Two days later, at the office, HR called for an emergency meeting after morning prayers.
“This is really heavy for me to share, but I was informed last night that we lost Tade. She had complained of food poisoning on Wednesday, and I thought it was something minor. Unfortunately, this news greeted my phone screen this morning. Let’s keep her family in our prayers during this time of grief.”
I sat there, numb, and all I could say was, “Jesus!”
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Dear Fervent Reader, there is more to life than meets the eye. Please stay close to Jesus and make prayer your watchword in whatever you do -whether good or good.
Thank you for reading, “Intuition” by Prisca Popoola. Please drop your thoughts below.
